Ch. 25
Starscream landed just outside the Harbinger and stared at the broken and corroded metal that made up the ship's frame.
He sighed and slowly walked into the ship, muttering, "Welcome home..."
The seeker traveled deep into the ship to the labs, smiling a little when he saw all the repairs they had made. Sensory lights came on and Starscream paused to cross his arms and observe the hallway. Frag, his base looked better than the Autobots' and his was a desiccated, ancient vessel. But his tech was both shinier and better.
Starscream frowned, "And I would probably have to give it all up if I were to side with the Autobots..."
The seeker shuffled his wings as he walked about the lab, unsure of what to do first. He had all this free time now. He thought he had planned accordingly. But now with all the time in the world, he felt his passion diminishing. Starscream was very upset about this, too.
With a heavy sigh, Starscream wandered into the far part of the lab to retrieve a datapad he and Knockout had quickly scrapped together. It wasn't the most sightly creation, but it wasn't compatible with other forms of tech and could not be hacked to copy the data inside; the seeker had filled it with lists of upcoming events and relics, some of which were already checked off. He took the time to check off a couple more then grumbled as he looked the list over.
As much as he didn't want to, Starscream was going to allow the next two events, the synthetic energon formula discovery and then its partial creation and application, to continue as planned. He wasn't supposed to be there for either event, so why mess with it? And he could use that time to find more relics.
The seeker purred, "More stock for the gun closet," he mused, setting the datapad down.
So far, he jointly owned, as Knockout would kill him if he didn't admit he had to share, the Apex Armor, the Immobilizer, and the Polarity Gauntlet. He still had many left to go, including a Phase Shifter, the Forge of Solas Prime, the Shield Generator, the Resonance Blaster, the Spark Extractor, four Omega Keys, one of which wasn't even on Earth yet... Starscream sighed as he realized the list went on.
There was still a lot of work to be done. Where could he start?
The seeker hummed and sat in a chair, leaning back to relax, "Well, the first relic to pop up will be the Spark Extractor, so perhaps I should try to go in order... After that is the Shield Generator, then the Forge..." Starscream frowned at the list, "All of these could turn the tide of war for both sides... It almost seems unfair that I know where all of them are..."
After a moment, the seeker sat up, "No. I just need to stick with the plan until Knockout and Breakdown can come to me with a decision. Get the relics, wait it out..."
A small noise made Starscream look up. It sounded like... pedfalls? But who would be here? Knockout or Breakdown would have at least COMMed him beforehand to let him know they were coming. Was it an Autobot?
The seeker dimmed the lights in the lab and hid in a corner, stashing the datapad somewhere in a pile of rubbish; it would be safe there. The steps drew closer and closer until they stopped just in front of the lab. The door flew open, but whoever this Cybertronian was did not enter. They waited.
Starscream stayed still. After a moment, a whirring noise caught the seeker off guard and his optics looked around the darkened room to find the noise. This was the moment this Cybertronian was looking for and the mech lunged into the dark, striking Starscream to the ground hard and wrapping him in a tight grasp. A light purple glow illuminated parts of the mech and an appendage let the seeker go to put the lights back on.
Starscream nearly choked on his own glossa, his optics wide, "S-Soundwave?! W-what are you doing here?! How did you find me?!"
Laserbeak hovered around the room to scan for other beings, then reattached to Soundwave's chest plate.
The faceless mech slowly seemed to glare down at the seeker, a growl emanating from a recoding he began to play, "Starscream," Megatron's voice echoed.
Starscream trembled, "W-Wait! Soundwave! You don't understand! Please, let me explain! I-I'll tell you everything, but please wait before you involve Megatron!"
Soundwave didn't move for a moment, the mech contemplating the offer he had been given. After deliberation, Soundwave began a countdown on his face plate of five minutes and slowly let the seeker go.
Starscream scrambled to his peds, looking around as he tried to decide where to begin, "Alright... ahh... so, I seem to know when certain events are coming up," he said quickly, "For example, Breakdown's abduction by MECH. I knew it was coming and I... stopped them from doing what I knew they would do..."
Soundwave's timer stopped. He just stared, unmoving.
The seeker's wings drooped, "A-and... and Airachnid's optic injury... Th-that was my doing. I knew she was going to team up with MECH to inflict torment upon... someone... and I tried to kill her..."
Soundwave still said nothing. But Starscream noticed he wasn't recording anything either.
The blue mech hummed, a metallic tone emanating from him, "Request: more."
Starscream's wings perked slightly. It had been eons since he heard the mech speak, but he felt he had little time contemplate the significance of the act as he collected the rest of his thoughts.
"Ahh, alright, um... Well, the incident between myself and Megatron," he grumbled, "I knew that was coming too..."
Soundwave hummed again, "Query: how?"
The seeker shrugged, "I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that I was dead and then I was here. In the past, it would seem. Like I dreamt through everything that was going to happen and then woke up right in the middle of it..."
The blue mech stared harder then turned away suddenly, figures and equations littering his screen. Starscream leaned over to see some of the formulas Soundwave was devising but he was coming up with them too fast. What he managed to gather, with a wave of relief, was that the blue mech not only believed him but was testing the theory of the seeker's claim in scientific practicality, not to give any faction the advantage.
Starscream slowly reached out to Soundwave to touch him arm, bringing the blue mech out of his trance, "I didn't tell Megatron for a reason. Besides the fact that he would think me insane. I'm not going to stop... I don't want to have to stop you from going Megatron. But what he would do with the information I have... Soundwave, what is going to happen, what I know is going to happen, is far beyond what we could have expected."
Soundwave looked at him, his helm cocked to the side.
The seeker shook his helm, "It's hard to explain. I know what the Decepticons has meant to you..."
Soundwave pulled away slightly then sat himself on the floor, gesturing for Starscream to do the same, "Request: explain regardless."
The seeker sighed and sat, speaking quietly, "Alright... This all starts about three weeks ago, which for me, was a little more than two years ago..."
Knockout typed a few more observations into Airachnid's medical log, leaning back in his chair to rub his optics tiredly. He felt a servo gently touch his shoulder and he smirked as Breakdown smiled down at him.
"What are you doing up?"
The blue mech chuckled, "I was about to ask you the same thing until I saw the empty berth. You discharged her?"
Knockout nodded, looking over the notes he had logged, "Nothing more I could do. She just needs to rest and she'll be back in a few days..."
Breakdown grumbled, the red mech grumbling with him. The two were almost at a loss at what to do next. At least Starscream knew what was coming. And now he could just prepare for all of it without worrying about being caught.
"This will be the best way, because I can easily guarantee they're going to be surprised."
Knockout nearly fell out of his chair when he heard the voice, STARSCREAM'S voice, echoing into the med bay. Breakdown turned to the med bay's open door, his optics widening when he saw Soundwave slowly stroll in, a video recording of Starscream inside the Harbinger playing.
Starscream straightened himself up on screen and coughed lightly to clear his throat, "Well, hello... I think you may have guessed at this point that Soundwave has found out everything."